ALBANY, N.Y. (Albany Times Union) — Dr. Robert Pringle had his first hint of a latex allergy in the late 1980s, as he was preparing for surgery.

"I was in the OR scrubbing, when something went through the air and I became short of breath," he said.

The Glens Falls surgeon didn't think twice about the event until his symptoms worsened. By 1994, he was using an asthma inhaler to ward off attacks he thought were triggered by allergies to dust, molds and cats.

Yet he still felt bad, even after getting rid of his family's two cats. In the middle of surgery, he'd have to use his inhaler to breath. In the spring of 1995, he ended up in the hospital himself after an asthma attack almost killed him.

"We still didn't know it was latex," said Pringle, 52. "This was so uncommon."

Today, as many as 16 percent of all health care workers suffer from latex allergies. "We have what I would call an epidemic," said Jocelyn Celestin, head of the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Center at Albany Medical Center Hospital.

Long considered one of the best barriers against infectious diseases, latex has recently become a source of disability and illness for people sensitive to proteins found in the natural rubber from which surgical gloves and 30,000 other products, including condoms, are made.

"We're only seeing the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Michael Holland, an occupational health expert in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Made from the sap of a tree found in Africa and Southeast Asia, latex has been used in health care for almost 100 years.

Yet the number of latex allergy cases has risen most dramatically in the 12 years since the Centers for Disease Control first mandated universal precautions — and the widespread use of latex gloves — to protect against diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis.

According to some estimates, the use of latex gloves jumped from 12 billion pairs in 1987 to more than 200 billion in 1997.

Problems have begun to surface because, as with allergies to cat dander, peanuts and bee stings, people who are sensitive to latex often become more sensitive with repeated exposure, Celestin said.

"We completely changed the way we practice medicine," said Celestin. "We have been able to say with latex allergies, more than any other type of allergy, that it's due to excessive exposure to the latex allergen."

That's one reason why latex allergies were first widely recognized in the early 1990s among children with spina bifida, a neural tube disorder that prevents the spine from properly forming.

Kids with spina bifida usually have to undergo multiple surgical procedures at a young age. In addition, they often must rely on catheters to help them urinate. Health experts believe such numerous exposures at a young age to the latex, both in the gloves and the catheters, increases the risk for latex allergies.

Others at risk include people who work in the manufacture of latex products, and those with a history of hay fever or food allergies.

Of particular concern have been powdered latex gloves, the cheapest and most plentiful source of latex in the health profession. Although the powder, usually corn starch, isn't a problem by itself, it serves as a vehicle to make the latex allergen airborne, Holland said. Once inhaled, those proteins are quickly absorbed by the body.

In recent years, most large hospitals have tried to cut down on latex exposure for patients and employees by switching to powder-free gloves.

Some latex manufacturers have also taken steps to cut down the amount of natural plant protein found in their gloves. Although such gloves tend to be more expensive, Holland said it's cheaper for hospitals in the long-run. "One disability case can buy 10 years worth of powder-free gloves," Holland said.

Yet Pringle acknowledges that latex gloves are still the glove of choice for most physicians, especially surgeons who need "exquisite tactile sense" to perform delicate operations.

And while there are some vinyl gloves on the market, they aren't as effective as latex at preventing transmission of infectious pathogens.

"There is no track record like the track record for latex gloves," said Pringle, who lives in Saratoga Springs.

Because of his allergy, Pringle was forced in 1997 to give up his 20-year career as a surgeon. He has since returned to Glens Falls Hospital in Albany as the new medical director, an administrative job which doesn't require him to don gloves. He is also pursuing a master's degree in occupational health from McGill University in Montreal.

"I do miss my trade," he said of his surgical career. "You spend years training for it and I was at my peak. But I'm not one of those people who dwell in the past. I haven't felt this good in 15 years. I can breathe."

Copyright 1999 The Albany Times Union. All rights reserved.